


I Gave Up Dreaming For A While

by snowywintertales



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-27
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-07-27 02:16:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7599484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowywintertales/pseuds/snowywintertales
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU. Running his runaway wife's café isn't what Remus Lupin always wanted to do with his life, especially not when he's expected to take care of his son at the same time. S/R.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Gave Up Dreaming For A While

**Author's Note:**

> This one-shot was written for rs-remix, a community on Livejournal. If you signed up, you were assigned an author, and you had to select one of their stories to "remix". In other words, you had to use one of their storylines, ideas or characters and turn it into a new story. I wrote the following story, which was based on a story called "Playdates", by LJ user deathjunkie. 
> 
> As for the inspiration behind this fic: who knew that four-year-olds can actually hold sensible conversations? The one I babysit doesn't tend to offer more than 'shoes!' (he's just got a new pair of shoes) and how the shoes need to sleep in the same room as him. About the hedgehog – I made one when I was Teddy's age. It's about the ugliest thing you've ever seen, but my mum keeps it displayed on a shelf next to ornate boxes and whatnot as if it's a Picasso, which made me reasonably sure about using it here.
> 
> * * *

**I Gave Up Dreaming For A While**

It was March 10th, Remus' birthday. The weather had been uncannily kind, offering mild breezes and off-sunny days. That morning at breakfast, Teddy had given him a self-made clay figurine of a hedgehog, painted in a myriad of messy colours (red overlapping blue fading into a loud green). The toothpicks that made up its spine were rock-hard and Remus caught his finger on one of them. Teddy had burst into shocked little breathy tears at the blood, but that stopped when Remus asked him to help put on a sticky plaster.

Business wasn't slow today. A furious rain had started this morning and kept on; many people wandered into the café for shelter, enjoying the discount Remus offered because of his birthday. Teddy behaved brilliantly, sitting in the kitchen with his reading books, Remus' baker's hat crooked on his head. He never asks about Nymphadora; not that Remus is sure he's ready to tell him, even after all these years.

When it went dark out, Remus brought Teddy up to bed; and when he came back down, he switched on the radio in the corner. It was an unsightly shade of green, the plastic slats dusty and more grey than their original white. It was Nymphadora's. Remus liked to keep it on when he worked, because it was sometimes easier to forget you were alone when you were listening to songs about someone else's loneliness.

" _As I walk along, I wonder what went wrong with our love_ ," a male singer crooned as Remus started sweeping the floor. He left the door to the shop open; he liked the smell of the air when it was late; the sounds the night made.

'Da,' he heard suddenly, the sound broken, and he turned. Teddy was stood in the door leading to the kitchen and their flat upstairs, trying to keep the tears back by jutting his chin up in a way that reminded Remus of Nymphadora. Ted was clinging to his plush dog, Ollie, and Remus fondly noticed there were chocolate stains around the collar of his car-patterned pyjamas.

'Teddy?' Remus asked. 'Alright?'

'Can't sleep,' Teddy responded. That was all there was to it, really. Whenever Teddy had a nightmare, he couldn't get back to sleep unless Remus stayed with him. And Remus wasn't done cleaning yet; he had put it off for too long already. The café was a never-ending mill of customers; customers who left muddy tracks on the floor and spilt their drinks over tables. If it wasn't clean, the customers wouldn't return, no matter that the coffee was the best in London.

'Come help me clean up, then,' Remus offered. Teddy gave him a watery grin and started wiping down the wooden tables with the cloth Remus fished out of the pantry for him. Remus watched him for a while. Teddy was thorough in his cleaning, precise in a way his mother used to be. Remus wondered how sad it was that he still thought of her, still worried about how much Teddy might need a mother.

 _You're always working_ , she'd accused. She'd said she didn't want to be responsible for everything anymore. Remus had wanted to argue; had wanted to say that it was her family's café that he was running, but she'd slammed the door on her way out and Teddy had started crying, startled by the noise. It was three and half years ago today; Nymphadora hadn't been heard of since.

They did all right, really, Remus and Teddy. Teddy was a quiet child at not-quite-four-yet, who rarely misbehaved. He liked all the same music Remus did, which became prominent when he started humming along to the song.

" _Wishing you were here by me to end this misery_ ," the song went and Teddy gave him a toothy grin that was purely Teddy, charming even when he'd already lost half of his front teeth. Remus grinned back and sang along, pretending to do a little dance with the broom. Teddy laughed.

'Mummy?' came a sudden voice behind him. Remus turned, startled. There was a boy there, not any older than seven, who was peering around wildly. When he realised it was just Remus and Teddy in the shop, his lip started trembling and then he was crying.

Remus put the broom up against a nearby table, kneeling down in front of the boy.

'Ssh,' he whispered softly. The boy looked at him with large green eyes. He was sporting a pair of black spectacles, but they'd slid down his face. He was shivering. Remus put a hand on his shoulder. 'Have you lost your mum?' Remus asked, after the boy had calmed down a bit.

'Yes,' said the boy. 'No. I mean – she's not here any more. I thought she was, heard her, I mean, and I came to look for her. Sirius told me not to wander off but I _thought_ she was and I –' He stopped and drew in a sharp breath.

Remus squeezed his shoulder softly. 'Ssh, calm down. You're going a mile a minute.'

'He lost hi' mum, Dad,' Teddy pointed out. Teddy, who was usually too shy to talk to other children, had come to stand next to him. 'I lost mum too. Want to tell Ollie? He listens good.'

He looked so earnest that the other boy gave a little hiccup and attempted a grin. Remus ushered them both to a table and asked if the boy wanted something to drink. The boy shook his head and, as an afterthought, also refused the seat.

'I'm not supposed to talk to strangers,' he said, fishing a chain out of his clothes and holding it up to Remus. At the end of the chain was a fancy silver military tag, which bore the inscription, _Name: Harry Potter. If I'm lost, please call_ -

At that very moment, there was a sharp cry of 'Harry!' from the door and Harry jumped away from Remus, the chain sliding out of Remus' fingers and clanging limply back against Harry's chest. There was a man in the doorway, and Harry ran to him, burying his face into his jacket.

'Harry, thank _God_ , I thought you'd run off! I told you to stay by the bike!' the man said, his tone a mixture of relief and anger.

'Yes! But the song, Sirius -' Harry said, but then suddenly halted, as if he wasn't quite sure how to finish that sentence.

" _And I wonder where she will stay, my little runaway_ ," the song closed. The man looked up for the first time. His eyes found Remus, who'd lifted Teddy up and had settled him comfortably on his hip.

'All right, then?' Remus asked. The man looked away almost deliberately, busying his hands with Harry's jacket.

'Yes,' he said. 'Thank you.'

'You're welcome. Some hot chocolate for the scare, I think.'

The little boy – Harry – looked eagerly up at the man, who didn't look as if he wanted to say yes. Remus had the distinct feeling the man didn't like him.

'Please?' Harry pleaded, turning his green eyes upwards. The man sighed, long and drawn out, and nodded vaguely in Remus's direction.

Remus smiled. 'I'll just take Teddy up to bed, be about five minutes. Pick any table you want.'

The stranger nodded again. Teddy looked accusingly at Remus, as if he couldn't quite believe that he had to go to bed when something so exciting was happening, but still went along. He waved at Harry, a little shyly, and Harry grinned back. True to form, Remus returned downstairs some five minutes later. Harry had sat down at the table nearest to the counter, where there was still the lingering scent of cake in the air. The man was sat down next to him, although he seemed uncomfortable.

Remus switched off the radio, and at the sudden dimming of sound, the man looked up and they locked eyes. Remus smiled. The man's eyes narrowed slightly, but Harry grinned a toothy grin at him. Remus realised he'd probably been waiting for that hot chocolate for a while now.

'Tea?' he asked the man.

'Sure,' the man responded, his voice rough. He didn't look like he wanted tea, but he didn't ask for anything else. Remus nodded and got to work. Within minutes, he was putting down the steaming hot chocolate in front of Harry and the tea in front of the man. He sat down at the table with them. The man looked on edge.

'I'm Remus,' Remus said, eventually, over the sound of Harry's slurping.

'Harry,' said the man impatiently, and Harry flushed and stopped slurping. The man gave no other indication that he'd heard Remus's introduction and seemed to be avoiding looking at him. It felt like the man had absolutely no intention of staying here longer than necessary.

'How old is Teddy?' Harry asked.

Remus smiled at him. 'He's almost four.'

Harry's mouth formed a silent "O" and he nodded. 'I'm older,' he offered, with a childish matter-of-factness to his voice.

'Really?' Remus said, pretending that this surprised him greatly. 'How old are you, then?'

'Seven and a half,' said Harry. He sounded proud.

'Wow, I'd've never guessed,' Remus responded. This seemed to satisfy Harry a great deal, and he went back to slurping his hot chocolate.

The conversation stalled. The man still wasn't looking at Remus, choosing instead to focus all of his attention on the table top.

'I won't say it again, Harry,' the man said after a while. Harry flushed and stopped slurping, pushing his hot chocolate away from him. It stood, nearly finished, in the centre of the table.

'Done!' Harry said. Then he looked back at Remus, expression eager. 'Can I play with Teddy now?'

'Teddy's sleeping,' Remus apologised. Harry's face fell. Remus noticed absently that the faded leather jacket he wore was too big on him. 'But you're welcome any time.'

'Really?' Harry said. The glasses he wore were brand-new, but seemed a bit too big for Harry's small, round face.

Remus nodded. There was the sharp _clink_ of silverware against porcelain and Remus looked up to see that the man had pushed his tea away from him. It was stood next to Harry's chocolate, still steaming. He hadn't taken a sip.

'We have to go, Harry,' he said impatiently. Harry looked disappointed, but nodded and slid off of his chair. Remus stood up as well, holding the plastic tray that he'd used to carry their drinks to the table in front of him. He smiled when he looked down at Harry.

'I'll see you around, Harry.'

'Thank you,' Harry said simply, solemnly, and Remus' smile widened. He looked up at the man, who quickly snapped his gaze away.

'Thanks,' the man told the wall, gruffly, 'for your help.'

'No problem,' Remus said.

'Yeah,' the man responded, sounding distant. His hand was clamped firmly on Harry's shoulder as he steered him outside. Remus followed them, fishing the key to the café out of his pocket. Before they disappeared into the rain, Harry turned around and waved. Remus waved back.

* * *

Teddy was full of talk about Harry for the next couple of days. He had decided that Harry wandering into the café was a very big adventure, despite the fact that it hadn't really been and that Teddy'd been asleep during half of it. Remus quietly told him over breakfast on the Wednesday that he wasn't sure that Harry was going to come round again. Teddy – who had been mid-story about what he and Harry and Ollie would do the next time Harry came around – looked at him with sharp disappointment, but didn't say anything more on the matter.

The café opened at nine that morning. Teddy had taken to drawing in the kitchen by himself. He seemed to think that it was Remus' doing that Harry wasn't coming over and had been short with him since breakfast. Remus hadn't the heart the call him out on it; it wasn't usual that Teddy was moody, after all. Soon enough, he was too busy making drinks and cutting up cake to keep his mind on Teddy much longer.

'Marly,' he called, around twelve, 'take this to Teddy, will you?'

Marlene McKinnon looked up from where she'd been sliding a plate full of breakfast onto a customer's table and glanced at the counter-top, where Remus had put down some toast. She nodded, taking up the customer's empty coffee cup with a promise of a new one and walking over to the counter. 'Got it,' she said, putting the plate onto her tray. With a, 'new coffee for table six,' she disappeared into the back of the shop.

Marlene was the only help he had at the café. She'd gone to school with Remus and she'd been the first person who'd come to visit him after Nymphadora left. _She's a miserable cow,_ she'd reassured Remus, patting him on the back. When Remus had opened his mouth to respond, she'd given him a look that said _Shut up and let me help you_. She'd gone on to work in the café three days a week. Remus had appreciated the help. It had been a godsend.

'H-hello?'

Realising he'd been lost in thought, he looked around to locate the owner of the voice. To his surprise, it was much lower down than he'd imagined; surely he shouldn't have been that surprised to find Harry. Remus took a moment to recover, then grinned down at him. 'Hi Harry. You came here by yourself?'

Harry shook his head and pointed. Remus looked up and saw that the man who'd been with Harry before was stood in the doorway, watching silently.

'Teddy's in the back,' Remus said, looking back at Harry.

'Okay!' Harry said happily, following the line of Remus' outstretched hand with his eyes and noticing the kitchen at the back. He came around the counter and made his way over, nearly smacking right into Marlene, who was coming out.

'Woah,' she said, taken by surprise.

'Sorry!' Harry called, not really looking back, and then 'Hi!' in Teddy's direction.

Remus snorted when he heard Teddy reply with a happy cry and he shook his head. Someone cleared their throat and Remus looked up.

'Hi,' said the man.

'Hello,' Remus said. 'I didn't think you'd be coming back.'

'Harry took a shine to the place.' The man sounded apologetic, almost. But he was at least looking Remus in the face this time. He wasn't much older than Remus, probably around twenty-four, twenty-five. His eyes were a very peculiar, unsettling shade of grey.

'Would you like anything?' Remus asked.

'Oh, yeah, right, I forgot,' the man said. 'Money for the drinks you gave us. How much -'

'I didn't mean - it's fine,' Remus interrupted him. 'Really.'

'Oh,' responded the man intelligently. 'Cheers, then. I'll have a coffee, please.'

'Sit anywhere you like,' Remus said, nodding and turning towards the next customer. The man went to sit down and Remus brought him a coffee.

Around an hour later, when the rush of lunch hour had ended, Remus realised the man was still there. He was sitting at a table near the back, watching Remus work. Marlene asked if she could have her break now, and Remus told her she could, heading over to the back table.

'Alright?' he asked the man.

The man had watched his progress towards the table, and looked up. 'Yeah.' The coffee he'd paid for was stood in front of him, untouched.

Remus nodded towards the full cup. 'You haven't touched your drink.'

'I've been watching Harry,' the man said. Remus turned and realised that the table he'd picked looked directly into the kitchen, where Harry and Teddy seemed to be involved in an elaborate game of Pulling On Remus' Bakers Hat And Then Trying To Tug It Off. Teddy's books lay abandoned near the door.

Remus looked amused. 'Are you always like this?'

The man looked up sharply. 'Like what?' he demanded.

Remus gestured to Harry. 'He's seven already.'

The man stood up suddenly. 'I know that,' he said, seemingly offended.

Remus opened his mouth to respond, but the man had already called out Harry's name. 'We're leaving,' he said, once Harry had jogged over.

Harry's face fell, but he nodded.

'Bye, Remus,' he said, waving cheerfully. Before Remus could respond, Harry had clasped the man's hand and they were off. Harry settled himself on back of the fancy brick-red motorbike that had been parked out front. He was wearing a helmet that looked far too big on him. Harry waved cheerfully at Remus. The man didn't look back, just drove off in direction of the road. He wasn't wearing a helmet.

Teddy had slid up next to him. 'I told Harry to come Thursday,' he announced, and disappeared back into the kitchen with a nod.

Remus stared after him.

* * *

That Thursday, true to form, Harry showed up alone. Remus stopped him just as the boy was planning on barreling into the kitchen.

'Harry, does your father know you're here?'

Harry, who was rubbing his head from where it had collided with Remus' hip, pulled back and looked at him funny.

'My dad?' he repeated. 'My dad's dead.'

Remus blinked, swallowed thickly. _Oh, god._

'Dead?' Remus asked, knowing that he was staring. 'But he was just here yesterday –'

'Sirius,' Harry said, with emphasis, 'isn't my dad. But he takes me to visit him, sometimes,' Harry responded, with a shrug of childish indifference. He wasn't quite looking at Remus. 'And mum.'

Remus blinked, confused.

'He looks after me,' said Harry.

Remus opened and closed his mouth a couple of times. Had Harry lost both his parents? When Harry looked at him expectantly, he stepped aside. Harry didn't appear to be bothered by Remus' questions; he rushed past Remus to greet Teddy. Teddy promptly dropped Ollie on the floor and the two exchanged a few words before they headed upstairs, to the flat.

'Teddy!' Remus called after them. 'Mind the glass!'

He sighed when the only answer he received was loud peals of laughter. He absently looked up only to find the man standing opposite the street, looking sad. Serious, hadn't Harry said? He'd said it with such conviction, it appeared to be referring to a person rather than to the word. Had it been referring to him?

The man noticed Remus watching and pushed his hands in his pocket, coming over.

'Hi,' he said.

'Hello,' Remus responded.

'Look, can Harry stay here for a while?' the man blurted. 'Only I need to get to an appointment and my sitter cancelled.'

Remus blinked at him.

'It's across the street,' the man went on, pointing to a large, nondescript building that looked like it was about to fall over. Remus eyed it suspiciously. 'I know it's a lot to ask when I've been nothing but a shit to you, but I need to get this settled. I'll just be twenty minutes.'

'Er,' said Remus, hesitantly. He wouldn't really have to look after Harry if he were playing with Teddy. And if it was just across the street, it wouldn't really be a hassle. He looked at the man.

'I can't take him with me,' the man said, pleadingly. Remus thought of the times where he'd had something to do, and he couldn't. His mother was in a nursing home; Nymphadora's family largely wasn't speaking to him.

'I can't promise I'll be able to watch him,' he said, softly.

'I'll take it,' the man said, looking beyond relieved. 'Thanks.'

Before Remus could open his mouth to respond, the man had dashed off towards the building. Marlene appeared behind him.

'Him again?' She stood on her tip-toes and peered around Remus.

'Yeah,' said Remus.

Marlene clicked her tongue in disapproval and went back inside.

* * *

Forty minutes later, the door opened and the man appeared. His face was flushed; he looked like he'd ran over from across the street. Remus blinked up at him from where he was serving a piece of sponge cake to an elderly lady.

'What's wrong?' he asked.

The man swore. 'I'm sorry,' he said.

Remus blinked again. 'What for?'

'I'm late,' the man pointed out.

'I haven't kept the time,' Remus said, shrugging. 'Harry's upstairs with Teddy.'

The man looked flummoxed. 'Oh,' he said, finally. His shoulders sagged down, as if he wasn't quite sure what to do.

Remus smiled. 'I'll take you to see him.' Without looking back to see if the man was following, he headed through the café, untying off his apron along the way and going up the stairs. Harry and Teddy were in the living room. Harry was sat on the floor, reading to Teddy from _When We Were Very Young_ (one of Teddy's favourites). Teddy was sat across him, leaning his elbows on the carpet and his head in his hands.

When Remus and the man entered, Harry looked up and grinned toothily. Teddy was much slower; when he turned his head, it was sluggish, and he looked tired. Remus peered at him, at which Teddy flushed. 'Tired,' he admitted eventually, when Remus kept looking at him.

'Thought so,' Remus said. 'Bed early today, I think.'

Teddy nodded. Harry, who had stopped reading, frowned at Teddy over the rim of the book.

'You didn't say you were tired,' he said, accusingly.

'I didn't want you go,' Teddy whined, softly.

'Sorry, Teddy,' said the man from behind Remus. Remus, who had forgotten he was there, stiffened. 'But Harry has to come home with me.'

Harry sighed in a resigned sort of manner and closed the book, putting it neatly back on the shelf (where it stood proudly between Remus' Tsjechow and Wilde) and standing up. Teddy looked sad, but stood up as well, on slightly wobbly legs. When Remus made a move to pick him up, he waddled over to Harry, clutching at his jacket.

'Come over again,' Teddy demanded.

Harry glanced up at the man, who looked pained.

'Why don't you come over every Thursday, Harry?' Remus surprised himself by saying. 'That way your –'

'Sirius,' the man said, looking embarrassed for some reason.

'Sir-ius,' Remus repeated slowly, stumbling over the name, 'can have a day off. I don't mind. I'm sure Teddy would like the company.'

Teddy tried his best to look as if he needed Harry to come over every Thursday.

'All right,' said Sirius. 'I'm sure Harry would like to come over, yeah?'

Teddy gurgled happily and it was too late that Remus realised he'd forgotten to – Teddy's hair turned a bright, vivid turquoise – give him the potion this morning.

'Teddy,' Remus breathed, feeling his heart stop and then stutter clumsily back into a rhythm. Teddy immediately realised his mistake and his hair shifted back, but the damage was done.

'Ace. I've always wanted to be a Metamorphmagus,' Harry said, and Remus let out a breath he didn't realise he was holding.

Sirius looked at him. 'He's Nymphadora's kid.'

'Yes,' Remus said.

Teddy's shoulders drew tight, as if he was paying rapid attention to what was being said.

'Thought so,' Sirius responded, would-be-casually. 'Come on, Harry.'

Teddy woke up seven times that night. Eventually, Remus drew him into bed with him.

* * *

The following day, Marlene rang him to ask time off; her grandfather had died. There seemed to be a lot of deaths going around, lately. Remus told her to take however long she needed; she murmured a faint thank you and an apology for leaving him without help. He told her to not worry.

But that very same day, he was almost regretting his words. He'd never really realised how much work Marlene did. The bell he'd bought just last week had finally lost its shrill, but its ringing every few minutes to announce a new customer was almost alarming. Remus hadn't known that that many people sauntered in on a regular basis.

'Remus!' Alice called out from her corner table, 'you forgot my soup, love.' Alice was one of the regular customers; she came in every other day, without fail, and sometimes brought along her son Neville. He was a few years older than Teddy, but he never spoke much. Alice more than made up for it by talking at hundred miles an hour, her Irish accent thick and charming.

'So sorry, Alice. I'll be there in a minute,' Remus shouted over the noise in her general direction. He was stood at the counter, and realised the very soup he was supposed to bring was boiling over on the stove.

Remus swore under his breath, immediately switching the gas off, but the damage was done. It wasn't edible any more. Remus wanted to bang his head on one of the cabinets, but decided he probably shouldn't.

'I burned it,' he told Alice, when he'd slid up to her table. He sounded miserable about it, and Alice raised her round blue eyes at him, petting Neville's hair absently.

'Oh, Remus. It's fine. Some tea in the meantime, maybe?'

'Sure,' Remus said, relieved, because he should at least be able to put the kettle on. He'd done so a million times already today. He shuffled back to the counter and switched on the gas. Not too soon after, he was carrying a tray with coffee for Mrs Table Three, tea for Alice, and chocolate biscuits for Neville, to stop him from trying to see how much the walls of the café liked to be drawn on.

He was nearly there when someone, very obviously, cleared their throat behind him. He turned and found Sirius standing there, not really looking at him. Remus tried to smile in relief, but found that Sirius had brought Harry along. He was so grateful, he didn't have words. Teddy had been quiet, withdrawn for the last few days, anxiously asking every other minute if it was Thursday already and would Harry be coming. Harry darted past him, finding Neville in the corner.

Remus overbalanced his tray and Harry hastily brushing past his legs had only little to do with it. The tray fell, the tea upended itself onto Remus. Remus hissed out a breath, and then there was a steady, warm hand on his arm, leading him towards the kitchen. Sirius closed the door against a flurry of noises while Remus gingerly lowered himself into one of the empty chairs.

'Take off your shirt,' Sirius said, and Remus did so, clumsily, his fingers sticky with tea and coffee and sugar from the chocolate biscuits. His shirt clung wetly to his skin and with every tug trying to get it off, it stung. Eventually, Sirius pushed his fingers away and pulled out his wand.

The material of Remus' shirt fell off his shoulders, cut neatly in half to a murmur from Sirius that he would fix it after. The wand began tracing over the skin of Remus' chest.

'Why didn't you spell it away yourself?' Sirius demanded.

'I'm not -' Remus started, then flushed. 'I'm not a wizard.'

'Where's Marjorie?' Sirius asked, not really looking at him. The painful burns started to gradually fade, fade and disappear. Remus pretended to not really notice anything.

'You mean Marlene?'

Sirius looked up at him with an eyebrow raised. Apparently he did.

'Her grandfather died. She can't help.'

Harry burst into the kitchen, with Neville in tow. He wasn't really looking at Remus; he seemed to be looking past him.

'Teddy's upstairs,' Remus said, and Harry flashed him a charming, childish grin and tugged Neville upstairs with him. Sirius drew his wand away after spelling the fabric of Remus' shirt to fuse itself together again and tucked it into his leather jacket.

'Thank you,' Remus told Sirius, doing up the buttons to his shirt with shaky fingers. Magic still enthralled him, surprised him, but he was trying not to look as if it did. He'd seen Nymphadora use it often enough.

'Let me,' Sirius said, and Remus wasn't really sure why, but he let Sirius help him button up his shirt. They were quiet for a while. The sounds in the café and kitchen muted down; there was only the sound of Sirius's breathing, close to his. It seemed to be stuttering slightly.

'I could help,' Sirius said quietly, after he'd finished buttoning up the shirt.

'Help?' Remus echoed blankly.

'The café,' Sirius elaborated. 'Marjorie's not here -'

'Marlene,' Remus corrected.

'And I could help on Thursdays. You do a bang up job of it anyway.'

Remus looked at him. 'I can't ask you to do that.'

'Harry's here anyway,' Sirius replied, with a shrug. 'Might as well chip in.'

'No,' Remus said, standing up. He tucked his shirt back into his trousers and made way for the door. 'I'll manage.'

'You've got a problem,' Sirius said quietly, when Remus had his hand on the doorknob.

'What?' Remus said, turning around.

Sirius was close, looking at him from under his eyelashes. He seemed to be looking straight through Remus, and he was really standing quite close. Remus took a step back, pressing himself back against the door.

'What?' he repeated again, not willing to back down.

'You're not used to people helping you, are you?' Sirius said quietly.

'I've got Marlene -'

'Nymphadora's my cousin,' Sirius said, putting his hand next to Remus' head. 'I'm helping you whether you want me to or not.'

'I don't need your help,' Remus said. 'Take Harry and go away. I can manage fine without any help from you or the rest of your family. I've been managing for years.'

'Yeah, I can see that,' Sirius said quietly. 'You've been doing quite well, except yeah, not really. Teddy hardly even speaks.'

'His mother left him when he was a child. She _chose_ to leave him, to leave us. Harry's parents are dead, but at least he knew that they loved him. Teddy doesn't know. Now get out of my café,' he hissed. It was the first time he'd really gotten angry since Nymphadora left. It felt cloying and dangerous beneath his skin, roaring something into life that he wasn't sure he was ready to face yet.

Sirius kissed him. His hands were in Remus' hair and the other was dipping his head back, so that he could really properly kiss him. It wasn't soft, like Remus thought it might've been. It was hard and rough around the edges, but not that unpleasant.

He'd never kissed a -

Sirius pulled back. 'I'll help,' he said, his voice rough.

'O-okay,' Remus breathed.

Sirius grinned, annoyingly cock-sure. Remus smiled back.


End file.
